Linnea Quigley

All posts tagged Linnea Quigley

All horror fans bemoan the lack of respect that their favorite performers receive in the world at large. For every Frederic March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Kathy Bates (Misery) and Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs), there are hundreds of wonderful performances overlooked.

What is even more amazing is when one of these incisive portrayals comes from an unexpected place. One may expect a lot of fun and vibrant energy emanating from the young actors in Kevin S. Tenney’s beloved original Night of the Demons, but for the sharp eyed, the legendary Linnea Quigley actually gives a masterful, dual toned performance as the flirty Suzanne here.

Quigley, in her mid-twenties at the time of her casting, has admitted to feeling uncomfortable with playing another teenager – especially as she was surrounded by cast mates that were barely out of high school themselves. But in this tale of a group of friends encountering demonic mayhem at a Halloween party, Quigley delivers with confidence and a surprising duality. In fact, her reluctance in playing another stereotypical sexpot actually gives her work here an almost Meta quality.

She hits all the right comic notes, for sure. Her flirtatious dialogue is delivered with aplomb. But her heightened real life awareness also brings a sense of commentary to her work. She does everything the role requires while giving it a wink. She seems to know that her lines are ridiculously sexual and that, while her character is the ultimate, over-the-top male fantasy, she is not buying into herself. Thus, she almost delivers a dialogue on the predictability of the role while staying true to it, as well. It’s a remarkable feat and one she, seemingly, accomplished unknowingly. She simply followed the mark of her true instinct and natural artistry.

Nicely, those in Chicago will be able to experience this phenomenon on the big screen on Friday, October 6th. Quigley, herself, will be present for a showing of the film at the Davis Theatre in Lincoln Square at midnight. More information on the free event is available at https://www.facebook.com/events/1418103908296624.

Naturally, I hope to see you there…and until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE,

Spider and Samantha are the names of the characters that forever charming horror goddess Linnea Quigley embodied in the cult classics Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama. Spider, a hardened thief who takes on a murderous imp, and Samantha, who searches for her missing sister with determined grace, are also true evidence of the inherent feminist themes in B-Movies that have attracted fans, and even scholars like Carol J. Clover (Men, Women and Chainsaws), to these films for decades. On the eve of rare screenings of these fan favorites at Summer Scares in Chicago, Quigley, happily, shared some memories about the making of these mini-masterpieces of divine mayhem.

I think Spider, the character you portray, embodies so much of what is important about the female characters in those direct to VHS years. She’s strong and resourceful and gives off such a feminist vibe. Oh! Yeah. Because a guy wasn’t saving the day, she was. Thank you!

I think that’s why that Scream Queen Era was so important to so many people. Those films gave the actresses great opportunities. You were able to play doctors and scientists and cat burglars. I don’t think you got that in a lot of the mainstream films of that time. Oh, wow! You’re right. We got to play murderesses and crazy people. The good ones!

Are there any memories that stand out to you about Sorority Babes? Weren’t the performers all housed together on location? Yeah. We were all at a La Quinta. We weren’t too far from the set. I had my own room because I insisted on it. I didn’t want to be in a room with someone who was wild or was staying up half the morning! (Laughs) I say morning because we shot at night. I like my own space.

It was a short shoot, correct? Actually, for a David DeCoteau film, it was a long shoot. It was seven days.

Seven days? That’s nothing! What was the usual time frame for shooting a movie like that? Oh, gee. Three days. A weekend!

Wow! Do you have any fun memories from working on Sorority Babes? Yeah. There were a lot of weird things. My room was next to Andras Jones (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Warriors). I thought he was cute. I had a little crush on him. But he was younger than me and he was in the prime of those hormone years. He was destroying his room and just being wild. I guess he was getting the last of that kid out of him and was being really silly and funny. He and the others would go out into town, which was a sea port, and everyone was just kind of all over the place.

Was there any else that was interesting? Of course, we had to act to nothing. The imp wasn’t there when we filmed and we didn’t know what it was going to look like.

David didn’t give you any clues? I don’t know about other people’s interactions with him, but he didn’t with me. He just let us go and do what we felt was right. If we had to be louder for the camera or if we were out of frame, he’d let us know that. He was really good about just letting us do our thing.

I understand that he let you choose the role that you wanted to play, as well. Yes! He gave the script to me and told me to choose the part that I wanted. It took me like two seconds. I want this part, I want this part!

Who wouldn’t want to be Spider? Of course! I didn’t want the other parts, I wanted that one. …and I had fun with it. I had so much fun.

Did you have the same kind of fun on Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers? Well, that came about because Fred Olen Ray had a camera for four days over a holiday weekend. He and David DeCoteau would have bets over who could make a movie the fastest. It was funny. It was the first and last time that I worked for Fred. He just called me and wanted me to do the part. I was just excited to get roles. …and I liked the role. It was fun. (Laughs) I got to work with chainsaws.

Was there any kind of protection on set when you were doing your famous chainsaw dance? No! (Laughs) Of course not! Oh, the things won’t be on. It’s okay! Then I’m doing my dance and I felt something like hot oil on me. I didn’t want to stop the take. In my mind I was thinking that my legs were going to be scarred up. I don’t know what it was. It could have been oil. It was a little bit freaky. Fred kept saying, Dance sexy! Those chainsaws are so heavy! I was taking it seriously, too. I was really trying to dance sexy. It was so hard!

Your hardship was rewarded. The film’s a cult classic and I think many people discovered you through it and adore you. So, I guess the work is worth it, occasionally. Oh. Yes! Yes!

You also mentored Gunnar Hansen on that, as well, correct? Didn’t you encourage him to get into the convention scene? Yes! We were standing around waiting for the next shot. I told him that he should be doing the convention scene. He didn’t believe me. He thought The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had happened so long before and that no one would want to meet him or get his autograph. He thought no one would remember him. I said, are you kidding me? I was so excited to meet you. I was a little afraid. But you would be so amazing at conventions. He kind of nah, nah’ed it. Then when I saw him on the convention scene, I was like, okay! He got it.

A little blonde angel you were, guiding him. Yes, take my hand, Gunnar, and I will lead you to the convention circuit! I was a Tinker Bell.

I think that needs to be the subtitle for this interview! Oh, great! I’d love that!

Forget Scream Queen or Goddess of Horror or Femme Fatale. You want to be a Tinker Hell! Yes! We’ll coin a new thing!

We will! Definitely!

Be sure to join the Tinker Hell Squad by meeting Linnea at Summer Scares on Saturday, June 10th at The Patio Theater in Chicago. Linnea will be joined by fellow guests, Ari Lehman (“Jason”, Friday the 13th) and Mark Patton, (“Jesse”, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2). More information is available at https://www.facebook.com/events/813470602136871/.

This may not qualify as a horse of a different color, but it certainly is unique! Well known for attending celebrations of such ‘80s classics as Return of the Living Dead and Night of the Demons, horror’s goddess of the divine, Linnea Quigley, will be in Chicago on June 10th for rare screenings of two of her other cult classics. Both Hollywood Chainsaw Hookersand Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-Rama, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, will be shown at Summer Scares, an exciting appreciation of the celluloid culture that excelled in offing nubile teens in warmer climes.

With that thought, 1980’s Friday the 13th, the film that is the wicked granddaddy of the genre, will also be shown, with that project’s Ari Lehman (“Jason”) on hand to offer an introduction, as well. In an interesting side note, both Quigley and Lehman recently appeared together in The Barn, an acclaimed slasher throwback that has been making the rounds of conventions and fests, as of late.

To sweeten the pot, Quigley and Lehman will be joined by Nightmare on Elm Street 2’s Mark Patton, who will be interviewing Quigley about her illustrious career. Talk about a trio of camp counselors that you could trust your life with! H-m-m-m – or maybe not.

Murderous ghouls in horror films can get away with almost anything…stabbings…beheadings…castrations. But stealing someone’s bag of candy? Well, then they may just have some serious retaliation on their hands. The dynamic resurrected killers in Justin Seaman’s ambitiously fun The Barn discover this the hard way when the film’s determined hero Sam and Josh, his plucky best friend, come after them to retrieve their purloined goods. Oh, and of course, to avenge their friends’ deaths and bring a halt to the dreaded Feeding which is sure to cause world doom.

But this visceral adventure is also a wake-up call for the youthful Sam (an effective Mitchell Musolino), who is full of holiday pranks and addicted to mindless diversions. Chastened into public service, after a joke-gone-wrong, the resourceful Sam eventually figures out a way to do his good deed while on a road trip to see his favorite metal band. Unfortunately, he and his friends stumble upon a remote barn and unleash a trio of monstrous entities that soon lay siege to their bodies and to a small town’s Halloween celebration. Therefore, it is up to Sam to embrace his imminent adulthood and try to save the day with Josh’s (the engaging Will Stout) assistance.

Adding greatly to the film’s throwback appeal, writer-director Seaman luxuriates in some memorable killers and some epic set pieces here. His terrible trio, The Boogeyman, The Candycorn Scarecrow and Hallowed Jack, drip with a satanic moodiness and are far creepier than many of the killers that populated the incredible number of imitative slashers that hit the video shelves in the mid to late 80s. A bloodbath at a local dancehall is also amazingly well choreographed by the multi-hyphenate and brings to mind projects as diverse as Brian DePalma’s Carrie and Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys.

Cameo appearances by Friday the 13th’s Ari Lehman and Linnea Quigley, America’s true goddess of horror, add to the movie’s appeal, as well. In particular, it is fun to watch Quigley, who played saucy victims in such memorable titles as Graduation Day and Night of the Demons, as she does a creative 180. Here, like in her effective turn in Full Moon’s Trophy Heads, she plays an uptight religious matron, the source of Sam’s initial downfall. With a sly sense of humor and a soft authority, she gives the production its star power – something that, given the artistry involved here, wasn’t necessarily needed for the project, but does provide a nice bonus for true fans of the genre.

Without a doubt, Linnea Quigley is the Queen of Scream. With major credits in contemporary horror classics (The Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Demons), seminal slashers (Silent Night, Deadly Night, Graduation Day), exploitation gems (Savage Streets), mainstream terror (Innocent Blood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4) and late night cable screamers (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Creepozoids, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama), her status as the crown princess of the macabre is pretty much impeachable. Those who have been lucky enough to meet her on the convention circuit can, also, assert that she is one of the nicest, most down-to-earth personalities out there, as well. Here, promoting her two appearances in Chicago this weekend, one at Alley Cat Comics on Friday and the other at the Vic Theatre on Saturday (as a celebration of Return’s 30th Anniversary), Quigley’s fun loving personality takes center stage as she talks about Return’s legacy and, as a confirmed horror buff herself, some of her favorite films.

BGHF: Trash…Spider…Suzanne…You’ve certainly played some kick ass women in the field of horror! Do you have personal favorites? Linnea: Well, Spider from Sorority Babes, of course. That was my first major role, I thought, as a woman in power. Then the next one, of course, was Trash. I thought she was powerful in her own way. I think the character knew what she was doing and was kind of controlling people. Those are my favorites. In Night of the Demons, the demon controlled us. But Suzanne, herself, was powerful – (Laughs) although, a bit dysfunctional about boys.

I think Suzanne is one of the most brilliant creations in 80s horror! I know you were reluctant to accept the part because you didn’t want to play a teenager when you were in your mid-20s. But you make her extremely fun and believable, while, also, seemingly using her to comment on the stereotypical nature of the role, as well. That duality is probably something that you did unknowingly, but I think it’s a stunning performance. Oh, that’s interesting! Thank you! I was thinking, Oh my God! Can I pull off a teenager? I was a little bit afraid to do that. Then I thought, Okay, I’ll just make it fun!

Night of the Demons has been remade. The Return of the Living Dead has an amazing number of sequels. (Laughs) I know!

How would you feel if they re-imagined the original, though? I think that would upset me. I feel like those characters were created, purely. It wasn’t done to make money or to make another summer blockbuster. Everything was aligned when we made that movie. I don’t think they could replicate that. I really don’t. The only other remake that I’ve seen that I’ve liked is The Crazies. For the most part, I haven’t seen anything where I went, Wow!

You’re a true horror fan. They’re going to be showing Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the 30th Anniversary celebration of Return at The Vic, as well. That’s one of your favorites, correct? Yes! Oh, yes!

There’s a story you’ve told that I love. You took a boyfriend to see it at the drive-in and he couldn’t take it. No, he couldn’t! He was like, Take me home! Take me home! It was my girlfriend and I. The two of us had seen it before, somehow. We wanted to go see it, again. So, we go there and he’s freaking out a lot and, obviously, couldn’t handle it. He was like, No, no! I can’t take it. I was just mad. Luckily, it wasn’t a big drive. We drove him back to where he lived. My girlfriend and I then went back and watched the rest of it.

Was that the last date? Yeah, kind of! (Laughs) You’d think he’d just conceal his fright. The film is scary and unnerving. But he had to have been around 21 or 22.

What are some of your other favorite horror films? Well, Jaws, I always put first because it scares me so bad. Most of Alfred Hitchcock’s stuff, as well. Rear Window is one that I really like. When I watch it now, it’s not as intense. But when I watched it as a kid, it was cool.

What a great cast! Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly… …and the woman who played his maid! What a great actress.

Yes. Thelma… I can’t think of her name.

It’s on the tip of my tongue. Thelma Ritter! I just watched her in All About Eve on Thanksgiving! Yes! She was in big movies, but she’s one that you go, Now what was her name? Another one that is scary to me, on a lot of levels, is Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte with Bette Davis. That one just creeps me out. It’s not made to be horror really, but it is. It’s kind of in the vein of Sunset Boulevard. The stuff she’s doing is horrifying and it affects you – or most people it does! Of course, there is always What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? with Bette Davis, as well. H-m-m-m…There is another one that I love with Robert…is it Robert Mitchum? He was a killer with HATE tattooed on his hand and he goes after these kids. He’s yelling, Children! He killed the mom.

That’s Night of the Hunter! Yeah, that’s it. That’s it! I always forget the name of that. That movie creeped me out. I remember her (actress Shelly Winters) hair flowing in the car when she drowned. That was like — (Erupting into a famous Linnea Quigley scream) —- A-H-H-H-H-H!

I love that one, too! That was directed by character actor, Charles Laughton. It was the only film he directed, actually. Really!?! He did a great job! I just like that movie a lot.

They tried to make that into a musical. (Bewildered) Um-m-m…

I don’t think it was too successful. No. I can’t see that being too successful. (Singing, impromptu) Oh, I’ve got to get away from this man, he’s gonna kill me! That would be weird! They turn too many things into musicals! It’s frightening.

Maybe it was an anniversary thing. Speaking of which, I’m sure it still shocks and surprises you how beloved Return is. Yeah. When we did it, we thought it was just going to be another horror film. In fact, with the zombies…we were looking at the actors in make-up and thinking that they weren’t very scary. To us, they were just fellow performers, goofing around in their costumes. Besides, when you’re doing it, you don’t look at it from that perspective. So, it’s been a shock.

…and with you, shooting for days in the rain as Trash, you’re probably thinking about being cold and getting sick. Yeah! (Laughs) I definitely thought about stuff like that!

Was Return you’re roughest shoot? I think that was the roughest shoot I’ve ever done. I really do. Some have been bad and there are projects where you think back and say, Oh, I hated doing that. But, with the prosthetic make-up, with the cold, with the rain, being buried alive…it was definitely the roughest shoot I’d say.

How long was the shoot, itself? It was 5 weeks, I believe, with some pick-up days. One of the pick-up days involved putting the prosthetic mouth on me again! I was like, No!! It was when I bite the cop who is calling out. The zombies come running out and I bite him in the brain. It’s like a two second shot.

In Night of the Demons you got lucky, though, and convinced them not to put you in Suzanne’s demon make-up again for one of the shooting days. That was a really good coup of mine! I thought that they weren’t going to fall for it. Sometimes the directors don’t want to hear from the talent. They’re like, yeah, whatever. But I was shocked that they went for it and thought it was a great idea. I was really reasoning, though: It’s going to appear much more frightening if she appears as herself again. It means they can change! (Laughs) Kevin thinks about it and is like: Yeah, let’s do it. That’s a good idea. Of course, now he knows of my trickery.

Along the same lines of roles like Suzanne and Trash and Spider is Dawn in Murder Weapon. That’s another one of my favorites. That was fun because I got to be psychotic…and disturbed…and (Laughing) a little slutty.

That’s the strange dichotomy of these films. There are so many powerful female roles – even more so, I believe, than in mainstream films. But there are so many exploitative elements as well – nudity, intense victimization. Back then that was the formula. It was like if you didn’t have something like that in the movie, the production company wouldn’t buy it. They had their formulas and that’s what they went by. They had to have blood, boobs and guts. They always had the nice one surviving and the bad one dying.

Do you think it’s changed nowadays? Yeah! It’s changed a lot. I’m trying to think of a good example. Maybe the Saw series? At least with that, each character, particularly some of the women, had stories. One was a heroin addict, one was this, and one was that…It made a little more sense. There was a little more variety. It wasn’t so black and white.

The men, as far as I can recall, are abused just as much as the female characters in those films, as well. …Sometimes even more so. I hate those horror films where the guys get shot in the head then the women are tortured for half the film. Yeah, don’t make it just the women. I definitely agree with you on that! Equality!

Be sure to celebrate equality, the holidays and The Return of the Living Dead’s 30th anniversary this weekend in Chicago with Linnea! Alley Cat’s Horror Holiday Party with Linnea begins at 8 on Friday, the 11th. Tickets are $10 and include a free autograph from Linnea. More information is available at https://www.facebook.com/events/1526410034348980/. Doors open at 6, the next night, for the Anniversary celebration. Tickets are $12 (pre-sale) and $15 (at the door) and include screenings of Return, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Turbo Kid and Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight. Photos and autographs (on your items) with Linnea are free. You can visit the official Facebook page for the event at https://www.facebook.com/events/1652092685061873/.

While many a pop star has ended up in the career cemetery, not many have actually had their big break occur in a cinematic graveyard!

But that is what makes the divine Stacey Q so unique! As the voice of dance accentuated New Wave outfit SSQ, she first came to prominence by providing Linnea Quigley’s Trash with so much gothic sultriness to get down to with numbers like <Tonight (We’ll Make Love Until We Die) in (cult classic) The Return of the Living Dead.

Her smart advice from her exceptional release Hard Machine (1988) could have helped plenty of slasher victims out in the early days of slaughterdom, as well. So, sit back and listen…or grab that old neon headband and get up and boogie while the divine Q sweetly implores that you Don’t Make A Fool of Yourself!